jwheeler (4/27/2009)
Samuel Vella (4/27/2009)
jwheeler (4/27/2009)
The fact you even have to tell so called developers this stuff is frightening.Not really and it's something I've seen a few times...
When someone has a background in VB or C and has been dumped into SQL development then they might be able to write code but they lack the set based thinking which a good DB developer needs (they might not even be aware of being able to return sets depending on how much exposure they're had to databases in their previous life).
Usually a helping hand with their first few pieces of work will get them thinking the right way from the outset.
I know from experience when dabbling in ASP .NET that something which I've spent hours and several tens of lines of code trying to get to work can be ripped apart and rewritten as a very simple class by someone who knows what they're doing
Then surely the manager hasn't done their job by employing the wrong tool for the task?
If you have database development to be done you either employ a db dev or a C# / VB developer who is also a SQL dev. You don't buy a hammer to put a screw in the wall, surely?
That's a grossly oversimplified depiction. For a more realistic scenario, consider the following:
You're an IT manager for a medium-sized business, and you need a developer to build a custom database application -- but you've got almost no budget. You finally manage to convince the accountant to let you hire ONE developer.
Since you've got no budget, you do a little research and find the Visual Studio Express editions. You want to have some understanding of the created code, and you have some VB background. Now you've got a databse (SQL Server Express), a development environment (Visual Studio Express) and a development language (Visual Basic). So you put those requirements into your favorite jobs website and wait for your prince to come.
All of the responses you get back are specialized developers, SQL devs or VB devs who don't have a lot of db experience. What do you do?
From this (much more realistic) scenario, you should see that the problem is more like having a square bolt, and only having closed-end metric and standard hex wrenches. Sometimes none of the tools available to you fit the job quite right, and you have to pick the one that comes closest. Sometimes there's a tool you already have which isn't the right one but is a lot more easy to justify than spending $80k on a new tool for one job.
Of course the problem with all of these analogies is that we developers always come out looking like tools. :ermm: